May 2015

Home builders are rolling out the Welcome mat again for first-time home buyers in the Phoenix metro area.

With a lack of available affordable homes keeping many would-be buyers on the sidelines, some builders are stepping up inventory to meet those demands.

Meritage Homes Corp., whose homes generally sell, on average, for just under $400,000, is among those turning the focus to the starter home market. At J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s recent Homebuilding & Building Products Conference in New York, Meritage announced plans to build more homes in the low $200,000s, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Reps from Ryland Group Inc. also projected at the conference that entry-level buyers, who currently account for 33% of its sales, could grow to

Valley home owners have been following the news from Phoenix as residents begin to bail out their homes from flood waters in hard hit storm areas in Texas and Oklahoma, many others are counting their lucky stars.

Colin and Joanne Andrew, who live in the Houston suburb of Cypress, were among those spared the worst as record rainfalls flooded parts of the city over the Memorial Day Holiday weekend.

“I can understand if you hear the news and see the footage, and you know that somebody is in the area, you would expect the worst,” said Joanne. “But because of how big Houston is, not everybody got affected the same way.”

So far, the Andrews have not had to turn to their home flood insurance to help weather the storm. But the devastating stories

The Scottsdale-based builder and developer is asking for the public’s help in designing some new model homes.

Through a new crowdsourcing campaign, Taylor Morrison is getting input from people around the country to furnish new show homes with items such as flooring, cabinetry, paint colors, countertops and more.

Items selected by popular votes will be built into new model homes making their debut in the Texas cities of Austin, Dallas and Houston, as well as some Taylor Morrison communities in California later this summer.

The campaign, at www.mymodelhomeproject.com, was inspired by research studies about homeowners turning to digital media

Knight Frank’s latest Prime Global Cities Index puts North America in general, and San Francisco, in particular at the top of its list of expensive real estate in key cities around the world.

Three other North American cities are also making a showing in the top ten. Miami ranks third on the list, followed by Vancouver, British Columbia at number four and Los Angeles at number nine.

So-called “tier one” cities in countries such as the U.S., Canada and Australia are expected to continue to perform well in luxury real estate, according to Kate Everett-Allen, a residential research partner for Knight Frank.

Closing time is often crunch time for buyers looking to secure their next home. But new federal guidelines are hoping to take a little pressure off the process before move-in day.

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is promising more time and less paperwork for buyers who apply for a home loan after August 1st. As part of the new rules inspired by the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB aims to make it easier for consumers to understand the terms of their loans with user-friendly documents and allowing three days, instead of 24 hours, to review and sign-off on the paperwork.

Borrowers will almost certainly be leaning on their lenders and real estate agents to educate them on the new

Already a frequent go-to for start-ups and almost anything pop culture these days, crowdfunding has now become the buzz word in commercial real estate development.

The passage of the JOBS Act in 2013 has made it easier for the average Joe and Jane with money to invest, to enjoy a slice of the real estate pie that so many wealthy investors have savored for years.

“Commercial real estate and institutional assets were almost an insiders’ club,” said Tom Bade of Caliber Wealth Development during a recent visit to That Real Estate Show. “Now, for the first time, those assets can be sold in a way much like Amazon or other places like that, where everybody will have access to them.”